A New Beginning
by Maplefrost
Summary: What happens to David when his parents went into the church? Please R&R!


Otayy, so, I wrote this. Like, a while ago. I was walking with DragonRiderPippin down the bike path one day, and we were talking about Lost (is there anything else worth talking about?). Anyway, we were specifically talking about the finale, and I was like, "what happened to David?" And this fanfic was inspired. Hope you like!

* * *

David stared at the doors to the church. His mother had sent him a text with this location, but she hadn't said why. Now, he was alone, walking up to the large stone building, looking for…something.

Hold on, he wasn't alone. He spotted a man sitting on a fountain outside of the church. David walked a bit closer. The man looked…tired. But happy, nonetheless. He had short, mouse-brown hair, and his blue eyes were staring straight ahead through round spectacles. Overall, David thought the man looked very bookish, a lot like a teacher. Suddenly, the man twitched. Before David could turn away, the man's eyes were on him.

"Hello there." The man's voice did not quite match his appearance; although it was quiet, it demanded to be heard.

David gulped. "Hi," he replied, looking away. The awkward silence hung in the air a few moments. The man slid over a bit on the edge of the fountain, gesturing for David to sit next to him.

"Uh…My dad told me not to talk to strangers…" David muttered. The man chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well, I must say that your father seems like a very smart man," the man said. David smiled and nodded, then felt embarrassed for doing so. The man thought a moment. "If you don't mind me asking…what's your father's name? You look a little familiar."

David considered answering. "My father's Dr. Jack Sheppard," David said. He saw the man's eyes widen; was that _sympathy_ in his eyes? "So, you know him, then?"

"Yes," the man answered, sounding out of breath. "And I know your mother, as well. Juliet Carlson, am I right?"

David hesitated. "Yes," he replied, slowly making his way to sit next to the man. "How do you know them?"

"It's a very long story," the man replied, letting out a sigh. "Although it is quite exciting…" He paused. "I never caught your name."

"David."

The man smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, David. My name is Dr. Benjamin Linus." He held out a hand. David and Ben shook.

"Nice to meet you too, Dr. Linus," David replied.

Ben chuckled. "Please, call me Ben," he requested.

David smiled, and nodded. "No offense," he said. "But you look kind of like a teacher."

"I am a teacher," Ben replied with a grin.

"Cool," said David. "I'm a student."

Both of them looked at the church.

"Who are you waiting for?" David inquired. "Is your wife in there or something?"

Ben blinked. He cleared his throat. "Ah, no. I'm not married. I live alone." He stopped a moment. "Well, I used to live with my father, but a group of people from the senior home came and picked him up a few days ago."

David frowned. "I…I'm sorry."

Ben sighed. "It's for the best. He'll be taken care of there, and it was getting hard for me to balance teaching and taking care of him." More silence followed.

"Do you know what's going on in there?" David asked.

Ben's face went blank. He nodded. "Yes, I know."

"When are they coming out?"

Ben's eyes went wide at David's question. "I beg your pardon?"

David directed his attention away from Ben and towards the church. "I figured they were having some sort of meeting. My mom sent me this address, and I took a bus down here. Do you know when the meeting's over?"

Ben swallowed. For once, the 'man with a plan' had no idea what to say. "David…" he murmured. "Look at me."

David turned his eyes from the church and looked at Ben.

"Now, David," Ben spoke slowly. "What I'm about to tell you is confusing, but I'll explain it all in due time. Your parents…are dead."

David's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"They aren't coming out of that church." Ben hated telling bad news. For so many years, he had been the bringer (and, more often, cause) of bad news.

David remained silent for a few long moments. Tears teetered on his eyelids. "That's…that's impossible."

Ben attempted to show a weak smile, but he ended up frowning. "I'm so sorry, David…I'm sorry."

David didn't care that he barely knew this man; he fell against him, clinging to his side, weeping into his shoulder. He knew that it seemed that what Ben said was impossible, but something about the man made David believe him.

Ben, startled by David's reaction, cautiously laid an arm around the young man's shoulders. "Hush," he murmured.

"It hurts so much," David gasped. "It was so…sudden."

Ben nodded, letting a tear of his own fall as David edged closer. "I understand, David," he said, meaning it all too much. "I know."

After a while, David let out a sniff and stopped crying. His face was resting on Ben's shoulder, but he didn't move. Occasionally, he let out a dry sob, but other than that, he was silent.

Ben's phone vibrated in his pocket. Slowly, as not to disturb David, Ben pulled the phone out and flipped it open.

'New message: Jack Sheppard.'

Ben lifted an eyebrow. Jack? How could Jack be texting him? He opened the message.

'Ben. Please, take care of David. He doesn't have anyone left. I forgive you. We all do.' There was no date, just the message and Jack's name.

_I forgive you. We all do._

Ben felt another tear slide down his face. He looked down at David. After a few moments, he phone buzzed again. This time, it was a call. He nudged David, showing him the phone. David nodded and sat up, sniffling. He watched as Ben flipped the phone open.

"Hello?"

"Good evening. Is this Mr. Linus?" A loud, unfamiliar voice addressed Ben from the other end of the conversation.

"Yes," Ben murmured. "This is me, Benjamin Linus."

"Alright." The man on the other line cleared his throat. "My name is Kevin Davenport, I'm Jack Sheppard and Juliet Carlson's lawyer-"

"They're both dead," Ben stated harshly, whispering so that David wouldn't hear.

"Yes, I- oh." Kevin paused. "I'm…sorry to hear that."

"That's not why you called," Ben predicted.

"Right, uh, about three days ago, Ms. Carlson came in and requested a change in her will. She wanted a change to the child's legal guardian if both she and the child's father passed away."

"The child's name is David," Ben muttered.

"Right. Well, Mr. Sheppard-"

"Dr. Sheppard," Ben hissed.

"Dr. Sheppard, right," Kevin corrected. "He came in today and confirmed it. You have been appointed as David's legal guardian. You said that both are dead?"

"Yes," Ben said, feeling a stab of remorse.

"Oh, then…" Kevin swallowed. "There are some papers, you will need to fill them out, and you'll have to attend a hearing-"

Ben quickly cut the lawyer off, listing off his address and contact information.

"Alright then, Mr. Linus. About the child-"

"_David _is here with me right now," Ben informed him.

"Oh, really?" Kevin asked. "Okay then…your hearing should be sometime in the next two weeks. If you cannot make arrangements for the child tonight, I can call a social worker to-"

"No, no," Ben interrupted. "I can take him with me tonight, it's alright."

"Okay," said Kevin. "I'll leave you to it then. Be expecting my call." And, with that, Kevin hung up.

David looked at Ben. "Who was that?" he asked.

Ben, for a few moments, said nothing. "Your parents' lawyer," he answered. He looked at David. "I've been appointed as your legal guardian."

David stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Ben murmured.

There was another tense silence.

"What now?" David asked.

"Now," Ben answered. "I guess…we go home."

-x-X-x-

An hour later, Ben was taking a blanket out of the closet. He closed the closet door, turning and walking into the living room. He spread the blanket over the couch, where he would be sleeping. Sleeping in his father's room was out of the question; it still looked as if Roger had never left. Ben grabbed a pillow off a chair, placed it on the couch, and turned to walk back to his bedroom.

He looked into the room. David was fast asleep in his bed. David had said that he'd be fine with the couch, but he couldn't argue when they had reached the apartment - he was asleep. Now, he was curled up in the bed, the sheets wrapped around his hands. He was whimpering.

Ben walked into the room. He placed a hand on David's head, bending down next to the bed. "Shush," he coaxed, stroking David's head. "It's alright."

David muttered something incoherent and turned in his sleep. Ben waited for a few minutes. When he was certain that David had gotten over his bad dream, he walked out of the room. As he did so, David muttered something else, but this time, Ben heard it.

"Love you, Dad."

Ben stopped in his tracks. He spun around slowly, staring at David's sleeping form. The child was smiling.

With a smile on his own face, Ben closed the door, leaving it slightly ajar. He walked into the living room, but instead of going to sleep, he walked over to the phone.

"Hey, Danielle? It's me, Ben…"

* * *

WELL WASN'T THAT DEPRESSING AND BEAUTIFUL AND SWEET AND FULL OF BENJAMIN LINUS. Hehehe.

If that gave you cavaties, don't worry. I'm going to be uploading some Lost crackfics soon.


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